Sunday 15 / June / 2025
Bengaluru: After Pakistan's 62-run loss against Australia in the 18th match of the ODI World Cup 2023 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, Men in Green skipper Babar Azam said that his side was not up to the mark with the ball.
While speaking at the post-match presentation, Babar Azam accepted that dropping David Warner's catch was a mistake.
Babar added that M Chinnaswamy Stadium was a big scoring ground, and the margin of error was very low.
The Pakistani skipper said that they need to perform well in the first 10 overs with the ball and better in the middle overs with the bat.
"We were not up to the mark with the ball. And if you drop the catch of someone like Warner, he won't spare you. This is a big scoring ground, the margin of error is very low. Whole credit to fast bowlers and spinners for the way we pulled it back in the last few overs. Just tried to hit the length and hit the stumps. The message was simple - we can do it, we've done it in the past. The ball came on well under the lights. Couldn't get big partnerships in the middle overs. Need to be better in the first 10 overs with the ball, and better in the middle overs with the bat," Babar said.
Coming to the match, in the first inning, Warner and Mitchel Marsh made a solid opening partnership of 259 runs. Warner scored 163 runs from 124 balls. While Marsh played a 121-run knock.
The Men in Green bowling attack had a disappointing game as they failed to take early wickets in the game and gifted plenty of runs to the Aussies.
In the second inning, Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq played a 134-run opening run partnership. Shafique scored 64 runs from 61 balls. On the other hand, Imam played a 70-run knock from 71 balls. Mohammad Rizwan tried to chase the target but was dismissed at 46 runs.
Adam Zampa led the Aussie bowling attack after he scalped four wickets in his 10-over spell. On the other hand, Pa Cummins and Marcus Stoinis scalped two wickets each.
Following today's game, Australia stands in fourth place in the ODI World Cup 2023 points table. While Pakistan holds the fifth place.
